A production flow includes a sequence of connected activities. They are a depiction of a sequence of operations, declared as work of a person, a group of persons, an organization of staff, or one or more simple or complex mechanisms. For control purposes, activities may be a view on performed work under a particular aspect, thereby serving as a virtual representation of the performed work. The flow being described may often refer to a document that is being transferred from one step to another. In software engineering, production flow/process refers to detailed code specifications for running and coordinating a sequence of events. It can be a simple, linear sequence—the linear flow chart, for example—or a conditional, many-branched series of events linked together and interacting within complex feedback loops.
Production flows or processes are also associated with job scheduling and capacity considerations. A sequence of process activities is planned over time considering delivery deadlines, available resources, capacity, and similar aspects. Planning periods may have different total available capacity each, and planning periods can also be overloaded—having more than their standard total available capacity. Thus, presentation of job scheduling production flows or processes without addressing capacity aspects is incomplete and may degrade user experience.